Pumping jack



Jan. 12, 1943.

J.--B. PICARD PUMPING JACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 15, 1940 Y J. B. PICARD PUMPING JACK Jan. 12, 1943.

Filed June 15, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 n l l J Patented Jan. 12, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PUIVHING JACK Application June 15, 1940, Serial No. 340,737

9 Claims.

This invention relates generally to well pumpitng jacks and more particularly to their strucure.

These well pumping jacks are used principally for producing oil but may be advantageously employed for other similar uses.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of an improved Well pumping jack structure.

Another object is the provision of an improved fabricated jack frame.

Another object is the provision of a self-aligning pivotal walking beam support.

Another object is the provision of an improved oscillating bearing support for walking beams.

Another object is the provision for adjusting .a. self-aligning walking beam support.

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter in the following specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings a practical embodiment illustrating the principles of this invention is shown wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the jack structure comprising this invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the jack structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the jack structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional elevation taken on the line:44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a side elevationof Fig. 6.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view of one side of the self-aligning walking beam support.

Referring to the drawings the pumping jack structure comprises a left and right supporting A frame :lll each of which is made up of three principalangle iron members I I I2 and I3 welded in triangular shape. The longitudinally disposed horizontal angle iron member ll forms the base of each frame and is welded to the front anchor member M. This anchor member has a broad base plate 15, an angularly disposed toe plate t6, and a vertically disposed brace plate I! all of which are welded together to form the anchor member. The base plate I5 is provided with holes for receiving the anchor bolts I 8 which are secured to a suitable foundation.

The horizontal flange of the angle iron member H is welded to the base plate l5 and the vertical flange is welded to the brace plate 11.

The angle iron member 12 forming the front leg of each A frame also has its front or face flange welded to the top of the toe plate l5 and its side flange welded to the top of the brace plate H. The toe plate 16 is substantially the same thickness as the face flange and a triangular gusset or shin plate 20 overlies this face flange and the toe plate l6 and is welded thereto. The broad base of the shin plate 20 is welded along its lower edge to the base plate l5. These shin plates not only strengthen the anchor member l4 and the front. leg assembly but als protect the frame structure from accidental shocks that may occur when work is being conducted at the well head.

The other end of the angle iron member II is welded to the rear anchor member 2|. This anchor member is constructed and secured in the same manner as that of the front anchor members but it is smaller in size and is not provided with a shin plate. Owing to the difference in the inclination of the front and rear legs I2 and 13 of the frame, the included angle between the toe plate 16 and the base plate I5 of the rear anchor member 2| is more acute than that of the front anchor member [4.

Each of the legs 12 and N2 of these frame members is braced intermediate of its ends by the horizontally disposed angle irons 22 and 23 which are welded to the aligned flanges of these legs.

It will be noted that the legs of the left and right hand frames cant toward one another so that they are in close proximity at their apexes and materially spaced from one another at their base. This arrangement is made possible by the construction of the anchor members which provide the proper strength at the lower connections of the legs of the frame. The wide spacing at the base of the frames provides adequate room for the operating gear of the walking beam.

The longitudinal axes of the legs of the A frames converge at the approximate center of oscillation of the beam. However the upper ends of these legs do not meet but are welded to the bearing plates 24. Each bearing plate is provided with a front and rear plate 25 and 26 and a depending flange 21. The front and rear flanges of the angle iron leg members l2 and I3 are welded to the front and rear plates 25 and 26 respectively and the aligned flanges of these leg members are both welded to the depending flange .21, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.

The left and right hand A frames just described may be connected by the lateral brace or tie rods 28 which are used principally for erection purposes and which pass through aligned holes in the vertical plates [1 of the front and rear anchor members It and 2| and the aligned circular transverse seats 32 in which are nested the cylindrical surfaces 33 adjacent each end of the non-rotary walking beam pivot shaft 34. The ends of the pivot shaft are provided with circumferential grooves 35 which are engaged by the U-bolts 36. The depending legs of the U- bolts 36 straddle the pivot shaft and extend down through the longitudinally disposed slotted opening 31 in the floor 38 of the bracket 40 which forms the upper integral portion of the bearing plate. 24 and comprises theupwardly extending outer wall 4| the ends of which are inturned and merge into the bosses 42 integral with the bearing plate 24. Thus the wall 4| serves to strengthen v and support the floor 38.

43 represents a washer plate of greater width than the slot 3'! and which fits against the under surface of the floor 38 and is provided with two bolt holes properly spaced apart to receive the legs of the U-bolts 36. 44 indicates nuts screwed on the legs of the U-bolts tight against the plate 43, thus holding the pivot shaft 34 stationary in its pillow blocks and clamping the latter against longitudinal or arcuate lateral movement on the bearing plates 24. By rigidly clamping the pivot shaft 34 and its pillow blocks relative to the bearing plates 24, the A frames are rigidly assembled into a stable unit capable of supporting heavy loads without deflection and without the necessity of stabilizing braces. This advantage is further secured by spreading the lower end of the A frames at the base where they are anchored to the foundation so that they tilt toward each other at the upper or pivot shaft end at which point the shaft is fixedly attached, resulting in a rigid or self-supporting unit structure.

Another advantage is obtained by mounting the beam bearing on the rigid pivot shaft which insures free oscillation of the beam regardless of any slight deflection that might occur in the frame structure due to either the load or the adjustment of the shaft for alignment.

To enable the position of the pivot shaft to be adjusted longitudinally of the bearing plates, means are provided to slide the pillow blocks along the bearing surfaces 30. Thus the opposed bosses 42 of each bearing plate are provided with aligned threaded holes in which operate the abutment bolts 45 whose inner ends bear against the opposite ends of the pillow blocks, so that, when the nuts 44 are loosened on the U-bolts the corresponding pillow block may be moved relative to its bearing plate by backing off one of the opposed abutment screws and screwing in the other until the desired positioning of the pillow block has been effected. 46 indicates lock nuts on the abutment screws 45 which may be screwed up tightly against the ends of the bosses to prevent accidental loosening of the abutment screws.

The longitudinal adjustment above described enables the axes of the pivot shaft to be accurately located at right angles to a line which diametrically intercepts the well casing.

Another requirement for adjustment is due to probable differences in elevation of the two bear ing plates of the A frames which may be caused by imperfection of the foundation due to either misconstruction or the shifting or sinking of the foundation. This second requirement is satisfied in the present structure by the cylindrical mating surfaces of the pillow blocks and the bearing plates which permit the pivot shaft to adjust itself in a vertical plane into proper position.

A hub 41 is mounted for oscillation on the pivot shaft 34 and is supplied with the antifrictional bearing 48 interposed between the end portion of the hub and the shaft. 50 indicates an enlarged intermediate portion of the shaft to provide shoulders for holding the bearing in proper spaced relation. The bearings are prevented from outward movement relative to the hub by means of the split lock rings 51 which snap into grooves in the bore of the hub. 52 represents lubricant retaining devices at the ends of the hub.

53 indicates a bore axial of the pivot shaft which opens through one end thereof where it is provided with a lubricant fitting 54, and 55 indicates radial branches leading from the bore 53 to the perimetral surface of the pivot shaft at the bearings 48 to supply lubricant thereto. The outer raceways of these bearings are provided with ports 56 connecting at their outer end with the circumferential grooves 51 which connect with passages 58 communicating with the central annular well 60 cut in the bore of the hub.

The hub 41 is provided with a flat top surface 6| upon which rests the bottom flange 62 of the walking beam 63 preferably in the form of an I-beam. The walking beam is secured to the hub by means of the bolts 64 extending through holes in the bottom flange 62 and screwed into threaded holes in the top of the hub.

The rear of the hub is provided with a flat surface 65 which inclines downwardly and forwardly as shown and against which fits the front flange 66 of the depending pull arm 61, the top of which is welded to the under face of the bottom flange 62 of the Walking beam 63. The arm 61 is secured to the hub as by means of the stud bolts 68 which pass through the front flange 66 and engage in threaded holes in the hub.

As shown in Fig. 1 the lower end of the pull arm 61 is braced relative to the load end of the walking beam by the inclined brace member 69.

The lower end of the pull arm 61 is connected by the twin links 70, which straddle the well casing, to the pull rod H in the usual manner.

I claim:

1. A walking beam structure comprising a pair of spaced supports, a longitudinally disposed cylindrical bearing surface on each of said supports, a pair of pillow blocks each having a mating surface for engaging said cylindrical bearing surfaces, said blocks being independently slidable longitudinally and tiltable transversely of said bearing surfaces, transverse seats in said pillow blocks, a stationary pivot shaft having its ends nested in the transverse seats of said pillow blocks, means for locking the shaft and the pillow blocks relative to said supports, and a bearing member mounted on the intermediate portion of said shaft for oscillatably supporting the walking beam.

2. A walking beam structure comprising a pair of spaced supports, a longitudinally disposed cylindrical bearing surface on each of said supports, a pair of pillow blocks each having a mating surface for engaging said cylindrical bearing surfaces, said blocks being independently slidable longitudinally and tiltable transversely of said bearing surfaces, transverse seats in said pillow blocks, a stationary pivot shaft having its ends nested in the transverse seats of said pillow blocks, unitary means for aligning and clamping the pillow blocks with said shaft to said supports, and a bearing member mounted on the intermediate portion of said shaft for oscillatably supporting the walking beam.

3. A walking beam structure comprising a pair of spaced supports, a longitudinally disposed cylindrical bearing surface on each of said supports, a pair of pillow blocks each having a mating surface for engaging said cylindrical bearing surfaces, said blocks being independently slidable longitudinally and tiltable transversely of said bearing surfaces, transverse seats in said pillow blocks, a stationary pivot shaft having its ends nested in the transverse seats of said pillow blocks, means for aligning said bearing blocks in longitudinal parallel planes on said bearing surfaces and for locking them with the shaft relative to said supports, and a bearing member mounted on the intermediate portion of said shaft for oscillatably supporting the walking beam.

4. A walking beam structure comprising a pair of spaced supports, a longitudinally disposed cylindrical bearing surface on each of said supports, a pair of pillow blocks each having a mating surface for engaging said cylindrical bearing surfaces, said blocks being independently slidable longitudinally and tiltable transversely of said bearing surfaces, transverse seats in said pillow blocks, a stationary pivot shaft having its ends nested in the transverse seats of said pillow blocks, abutment bolts carried by said supports for aligning the tranverse seats longitudinally of said bearing surface, and a bearing member mounted on the intermediate portion of said shaft for oscillatably supporting the walking beam.

5. A Walking beam structure comprising a pair of spaced supports, a longitudinally disposed cylindrical bearing surface on each of said supports, a pair of pillow blocks each having a mating surface for engaging said cylindrical bearing surfaces, said blocks being independently slidable longitudinally and tiltable transversely of said bearing surfaces, transverse seats in said pillow blocks, a stationary pivot shaft having its ends nested in the transverse seats of said pillow blocks, annular grooves in the perirnetral surface of said shaft adjacent the ends thereof, U- bolts fitting in said grooves and secured to said supports for locking the shaft and pillow blocks thereto, and a bearing member mounted on the intermediate portion'of said shaft for oscillatably supporting the walking beam.

6. A supporting structure for a walking beam consisting of a pair of triangular frames each having a front leg, a back leg and a base joined together, said frames positioned in spaced relation and upwardly converging toward one another, a bearing support carried by the upper ends of the front and back legs of each frame, anchor means connected to the ends of the base of each triangular frame, a gusset plate overlying and fastened to the front legs and the anchor means of each frame, and a pivot shaft secured at its ends to the bearing supports to rigidly hold the tops of said frames in fixed relation.

7. A supporting structure for a walking beam consisting of a pair of triangular frames each having a short front leg, a long back leg and a base joined together, said frames positioned in spaced relation and upwardly converging toward one another, a bearing support carried by the upper ends of the front and back legs of each frame, anchor means connected to the ends of the base of each triangular frame, a gusset plate overlying and fastened to the front legs and the anchor means of each frame, and a pivot shaft fixedly secured at its ends to the bearing supports to rigidly hold the tops of said frames in fixed relation.

8. In a deep well pumping structure, the combination of a pair of supporting frames positioned in spaced relation, independent pillow blocks mounted on the frames and provided with transverse seats, a pivot shaft having its end portions received in said seats, said pillow blocks movable to allow them to shift to bring the coextending surfaces of the seats and of the shaft into mating relation, and means to fixedly secure the pillow blocks to the frames and the shaft to the pillow blocks, the shaft held against both rotary and axial movement to provide a rigid top connection between the two frames.

9. In a deep well pumping structure, the combination of a pair of supporting frames positioned in spaced relation, independent pillow blocks mounted on the frames and provided with transverse seats, a pivot shaft having its end portions received in said seats, said pillow blocks movable to allow them to shift to bring the coextending surfaces of the seats and of the shaft into mating relation and said pillow block slidably adjustable transversely to the axis of the shaft, and means to fixedly secure the pillow blocksto the frames and the shaft to the pillow blocks.

JOHN B. PICARD. 

